As UFC debut nears, Ben Askren is ready to bring his talents - including the gift of gab - to the biggest stage yet

Ben Askren speaks at the UFC 235 press conference Jan. 31. The undefeated Hartland native will compete in his first UFC fight March 2 in Las Vegas.

One has to wonder if Ben Askren gets the same adrenaline rush at the microphone that he gets in the cage.

Never one to shy away from trash talk, the Hartland native continues to exude confidence as he prepares for his first UFC fight Saturday, a welterweight challenge against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 in Las Vegas.

Askren, 34, has fashioned an undefeated record in mixed martial arts over 19 matches – predominantly in Bellator and ONE Championship series. This will be the next level of visibility for Askren, regarded as one of the best MMA fighters in the world to never compete in the UFC.

He shares plenty of trash talk on social media, but it’s not exclusive to those outlets. Watching the UFC 235 news conference, you can tell Askren is having a good time, musing about future fights, giving a brief impression of UFC president and promoter Dana White and making light of a hallway dispute with fellow fighter Kamaru Usman.

“These guys are good fighters but they're dum-dums when they get on the mic,” Askren joked Tuesday in a phone interview. “That's a little easier to win in that environment than when you're in the octagon. I enjoy (the talking) part of it. Heck, I've enjoyed that since I was 15 and 16 in the WIAA wrestling (online) forums. I’ve had fun doing that for years and years.”

But this will be a business trip, as well. The fight between Askren and Lawler, 36, was initially scheduled for Jan. 26 at UFC 233 in Anaheim, California, before the overall event cancellation forced a rescheduling. It represents a litmus test for Askren, who briefly retired from the sport before returning for this opportunity in the UFC, afforded by a first-of-its-kind trade with the ONE Championship series.

“This is what I've been doing for the last 20 years of my life, preparing to be the best I can at a very high level,” Askren said. “By age 17, 18, 19, I was having success at a very high level. National title, Junior World team, NCAA finals, winning the NCAA finals, the Olympics. This is all I’ve been doing the past 17 years, and one of the things I always stress is if you treat events differently, you're going to get a different level of competition. You don't want that. You try to give the exact same thing every single time.”

Before Askren made the trip to Vegas, he had to check out his wrestlers from the Askren Wrestling Academy, an organization that has elevated the level of skill among Milwaukee high school wrestlers. Askren and his brother, Max – both state champions at Arrowhead High School – founded the school along with former Arrowhead head coach John Mesenbrink in 2011.

“The vision that John Mesenbrink and I laid out was to make Wisconsin the best wrestling state in the country,” Askren said. “In order to do that, to be like Pennsylvania or Ohio or New Jersey, we had to have good kids competing against each other on a regular basis. That’s what has to happen. We saw a lot of matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals (at state) where our kids are wrestling each other. We had 81 qualifiers and 45 state place-winners.

“The one thing that I really stress every single tournament is to give me great effort; that's all I want. I'll stick to (coaching up) everything else from a technical standpoint. I really think there's an effort difference between our guys and other people. You look at our best guys, they all score a lot of points and all pin; nobody's winning 3-1 or 4-2. They're all scoring the points and bringing the heat, 24-7.

"We're seeing tremendous growth through our wrestlers and through our program, not only for our best guys, but overall, we’re changing lives through the sport of wrestling.”

Askren said the postponement of his fight date annoyed him initially, but he’s embracing the potential benefit.

“I was excited to fight Jan. 26, but coming out of retirement and fighting nine weeks later, that's a really quick turnaround,” he said. “The extra four to five weeks of preparation is probably a lot better for me.”

It’s given him a chance to train alongside friend Tyron Woodley, who will be on the same card at UFC 235, challenging Usman. Like Askren, Woodley was a standout wrestler at the University of Missouri, where Askren won two NCAA titles.

Askren went on to compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing before beginning a mixed martial arts career, but he has yet to compete in the most visible circuit in the United States, the UFC. He still says he has no relationship with White, and he has been critical of the UFC in the past.

But he’s here now, and he’s bringing his renown fighting acumen – and his wit – with him.

“Where I draw the line is I try not to be mean-spirited in anything,” Askren said. “Calling a guy (by a nickname he dislikes) is kind of funny, but it’s not saying you’re a terrible person or idiot or anything like that. I try to keep it fairly lighthearted, not too mean spirited.

"If someone attacks me and I have to put them in their place, I might get a little aggressive. But that’s not the only side of me. In the AWA practice room, I have to be a leader and a coach, the mature one. I can’t just be joking and teasing all the time, because then nothing will get done. As a parent, same thing. I have to be flexible with my personality.”